Are todays kids missing out ?

[0114owl1867]

going over another thread on another discussion board on here one forumner mentions going grass sleging on cardboard boxes in the summer, she (i think its a she) says imagine today xbox kids doing that? well no i cant and its a very good point, i did it all as a kid and i wouldn't swap any of my memories for owt.

imagine kids of today saying things like 'wow remember that time i was 13 and i cleared tour of duty on my third attempt' it just hasn't got that same ring to it as something like 'when we were kids we went to rivelin on the bus and went on tarzan swings into the deep pool then had to walk it home ' does it ? i sometimes wonder how comatosed kids are today IMO - what a shame

[kittenta]

I think they can be disadvantaged, but I also think that's down to the parents.

 

My kids have Xbox's but last winter they were also sledging on cardboard down hills, they go to the park, rivers and so on. Kids can do both, unfortunately a lot of parents prefer to sit inside whilst the kids hide away in their bedrooms.

[0114owl1867]

good points kit - we were out in all weathers all seasons i was envious of kids with ataris at the time tho they stil did the things all other kids did, and when i bought my lad a mega drive i liked it more than him, i do think the micro chip and digital age has beat 95% of em into submission tho and it will only get worse

[Stranza]

I'm a subscriber of the digital age I also have a teenage son who loves gadge he does play football after school on two nights per week but apart from that he stays in mostly and does his playing/ socialising on line.

I'm not unhappy that he stays home where I know what he's doing. Life is moving towards technology more and more so I can't see it being detrimental to him as he gets older it's just the way things are going.

Maybe I'm comfortable with it because I see the appeal myself but I do think sometimes that parents can't win. If we let them stay in and play online then we are accused of encouraging childhood obesity and sheltering them if we tell them to play outside we are not looking after them properly and letting them run riot. Hanging around online with a gang of friends is less intimidating for others than if they are hanging around a shop or alley etc. It's easier to keep an eye on what they do if they are in the house.

[kittenta]

I'm a subscriber of the digital age I also have a teenage son who loves gadge he does play football after school on two nights per week but apart from that he stays in mostly and does his playing/ socialising on line.

I'm not unhappy that he stays home where I know what he's doing. Life is moving towards technology more and more so I can't see it being detrimental to him as he gets older it's just the way things are going.

Maybe I'm comfortable with it because I see the appeal myself but I do think sometimes that parents can't win. If we let them stay in and play online then we are accused of encouraging childhood obesity and sheltering them if we tell them to play outside we are not looking after them properly and letting them run riot. Hanging around online with a gang of friends is less intimidating for others than if they are hanging around a shop or alley etc. It's easier to keep an eye on what they do if they are in the house.

 

Do you think that socialising online is the same as in person though? Surely if they are out and about they are more likely to converse with a wider range of people and so effectively develop socially rather than just chatting with the same group all the time?

 

Plus, if they are out and about a man can't walk up to them and say he's 15, but he could do that online!

[chocopants]

On the contrary I think kids today are so lucky to have so many things to do and see, same as in our day really but a lot more choice and variety of parks/activities/fun museums etc etc. My 2 kids love playing on Laptops/Ds/Wii etc but given the choice of that or doing something outdoors or just generally playing out with friends, it would be outdoors for them everytime.

 

So long as children are been given the option to do both and not just sitting square eyes all day, I think they will have loads of fantastic memories to share when they are older.

[Stranza]

Do you think that socialising online is the same as in person though? Surely if they are out and about they are more likely to converse with a wider range of people and so effectively develop socially rather than just chatting with the same group all the time?

 

Plus, if they are out and about a man can't walk up to them and say he's 15, but he could do that online!

 

There are many dangers of online communication, anonymity makes certain types of people feel uninhibited and therefore 'braver' in approaching children. It's online though not in person so whatever you lose by the anonymity you gain by them being indoors, that man who claimed to be 15 can't just walk into my house but he could befriend a few kids playing in the field and have access that way, or he could be watching them from the hedgeway and getting his kicks that way! It's six of one and half a dozen of the other. If you allow your child to sit in their bedroom with the door closed and never check/ monitor what they do then they will be vulnerable to online predators just as if you allowed them to play in secluded parks without any supervision checks they would be vulnerable.

My son regularly plays with a lad from Canada a girl from Hawaii and his uncles who live on the Wirral which he wouldn't be able to do if he was just knocking about.

Like I said before I may feel more comfortable because I game online and understand how social networking works and I feel secure that I understand enough to keep an eye on everything.

Sadly the online arena is sometimes abused by people who would exploit kids but we can control it, online bullying is another worry though. When we were younger at least we could go home away from our bullies but now kids have mobile phones/ facebook they are open to it 24 hours, finding a way to fix that will be hard!

[playman]

as kids we used to catch the bus to fox house and muck about on the rocks and in the stream, we used to dam it up to create a pool to mess about in, then walk home after spending the bus fare on ice cream.

 

my son in his late teens has all the latest gadgets but still loves going to the peak district and exploring the rocks and caves, this is due to the fact that when i was an outdoor pursuits instructor he came out with me and did all the activities i did.

[Guest busdriver1]

The problem today is many kids have difficulty interacting with others in the flesh as they are unfamiliar with the concept.

When ay work I am regularly dismayed by kids who just walk onto the bus and just stand there expecting me to read their minds.

These are kids who could be anything from 15 to 20 as I am not the best judge of age.

The concept of speaking or even just showing a pass sems foreign to them.

[Stranza]

The problem today is many kids have difficulty interacting with others in the flesh as they are unfamiliar with the concept.

When ay work I am regularly dismayed by kids who just walk onto the bus and just stand there expecting me to read their minds.

These are kids who could be anything from 15 to 20 as I am not the best judge of age.

The concept of speaking or even just showing a pass sems foreign to them.

 

I don't think that's down to not playing outside. When I first had my son I remember the health visitor calling and catching me napping on the sofa with the baby in a bouncy chair in front of the teletubbies, she told me off and told me the VCR wasn't a baby sitter and not to leave him with a video. After that I started to leave him with his Granny an extra hour (she looked after him while I was at work) so I could sleep a little I wonder how many people didn't have someone to watch their kids while they had a rest or did the house work and left them alone, I'd guess that makes it harder to interact with people.